LINCOLN — Motorcyclists would have to carry $1 million worth of medical coverage plus long-term care insurance under amendments to a bill to repeal the state's helmet law.
But the law's future remains up in the air today after a second day of debate in the Nebraska Legislature. Debate is expected to continue into Wednesday.
State Sen. Charlie Janssen of Fremont, who introduced Legislative Bill 200, said the insurance requirements answer critics who said society pays for injured motorcyclists.
He offered an amendment today that would still require helmets for riders younger than 21 and would add the medical insurance requirement.
Sen. Colby Coash of Lincoln proposed the long-term care insurance requirement, which was approved on a 30-11 vote.
In what he said was a bid to win votes, Janssen's amendment also would reinstate the helmet requirement after five years. He said the sunset provision would give Nebraskans a chance to see the effects of the repeal. "Let us prove that we'll exercise our freedom and our choice in a responsible manner," he said.
But opponents said the changes would not make a "bad bill" acceptable. "Personally I think personal responsibility trumps personal freedom," said Sen. Cap Dierks of Ewing.
Other opponents noted that the insurance requirement amounted to a mandate imposed in the name of providing choice.
The Legislature opened debate Monday on the repeal bill.
Janssen said adults who ride motorcycles should have the "personal freedom" to choose whether to wear a helmet, just as they do in 30 other states.
Because of the helmet law, he said, many riders bypass the state, particularly going to and from the summer motorcycle rally in Sturgis, S.D. That means business and tax dollars go elsewhere, Janssen said.
"Tourists vote with their dollars, and they are saying no to Nebraska," he said.
Efforts to repeal the law have failed repeatedly since it was reinstated in 1989.
Helmet law supporters said Monday that the law saves not only lives but money for the state.
When Florida repealed its helmet law in 2000, deaths from motorcycle crashes rose 24 percent, helmet use fell to 50 percent and Medicaid costs to care for uninsured riders increased by $10 million, according to a study done for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Omaha State Sen. Steve Lathrop said Nebraska would see an estimated 250 to 300 accidents a year involving helmetless motorcycle riders, who would be 40 percent more likely to die and three times as likely to have a traumatic brain injury.
Lathop called a repeal "bad policy."
"We are inviting more deaths on the road and more brain injuries that as a state we'll be responsible for," he said.
Haar, of Malcolm, said a distracted driver pulled in front of him 25 years ago as he rode his Honda motorcycle about 15 mph on a Lincoln street.
The cycle was totaled, but Haar is convinced that his badly scratched helmet saved his life.
"It's not only responsible, but good public policy," he said.
Janssen said he was disappointed that senators brushed aside his "freedom" arguments. He said he's open to amendments, including a suggestion by Bellevue Sen. Scott Price to repeal the law for only five years as a test, if it helps him gain the 25 votes needed to advance the bill.
Debate resumes today on Janssen's amendment to continue requiring riders under 21 to wear helmets. If that fails, he said, it will be a good indication the repeal bill lacks support.
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